I didn't play CoD4 when it was first released. I waited a month or two. That was my mistake. I knew that the franchise was moving away from World War 2, and for some reason this didn't fly with me at first. I mean, sure, WW2 games are quickly running their course and seem to be beyond their heyday, but there's a ton of modern-day shooters, and futuristic shooters out there that are also sort of diluting the market. Infinity Ward definitely took this opportunity and ran with it, however. The setting changes throughout the game, placing you in different boots for different missions, a'la past Call of Duty games. Your British SAS unit sees most of the action in Azerbaijan, and your U.S. Marines, while the game does not overtly say where it's taking place, judging by the satellite image it seems to be in northern Saudi Arabia.
The campaign storyline is compelling, addicting, well-written, exciting, and a whole bunch of other positive adjectives. I won't spoil anything in the story, just as I would want the same courtesy if I had not yet played the game. Just trust me when I say that even the single-player mode, in a world where multi-player seems to be taking a leading importance over solitary play, it's refreshing to see that it's still capable to feel the excitement of watching a great movie while playing a great game at the same time. Admittedly, the story is a little bit short, and the 'Acts' or chapters of storyline are disproportionate. The first one is rather long and makes you look forward to a nice, long game, but then the last two go by like lightning, and before you know it, the game is over. However, for your efforts, you'll get some extra fun out of the 'Epilogue', a mission aboard a hijacked airplane that can only be a preview into the plans for Call of Duty 5. And let me tell you, attempting to beat the Epilogue on Veteran difficulty will have you pounding your head into the wall before long. But it must be done!
Screenshot courtesy of www.gamepro.com
Now, once you're done with that, and you've got a nice feel for the game, dive straight into multiplayer. This is some of the deepest multi-player that I've seen, and perhaps an even better system than Battlefield because ranks are not so daunting to reach. There are challenges that provide bonus XP, support call-ins, such as UAV radar, helicopters, and airstrikes, and new guns to unlock and show off against other players. In all, it provides a system that will have you hooked, whether it's trying to get the next Headshot challenge, or trying to do some crazy stunt like triggering C4 with a bullet through a wall to get a kill, or just straight up playing the game for what it's worth, trying to get a win for your team. Either way, it's fun, solid, good entertainment.
The audio quality of the game is great, all the way from the sounds of reloading guns to the psychotic growls of German Shepherds that are trying to rip your Jugular out. The graphics are superb, especially if you can enjoy them on a television with 1080P resolution.
So, now that you've heard it all, I must once again urge you to go and buy Call of Duty 4! You're going to get your money's worth out of it, and then some.
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